Southern Baptists taking more open stances on immigration reform

Demonstrators rallied across the country this week as the Senate subcommittee held hearings on the DREAM Act. (Paul Sakuma / AP)

Polls have found white Protestants and evangelicals hold politically conservative positions on illegal immigration and favor tighter borders over system-wide reforms, but that sentiment seems to be shifting among Southern Baptists, the largest Protestant denomination… or at least among their leadership.

His statement—sent Monday to Texas Sen. John Cornyn and New York Sen. Charles Shumer of Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security—comes just a couple of weeks after Southern Baptists voted to support efforts to provide paths to legal status for undocumented immigrants.

Land wrote that his commission could support the DREAM Act, with conditions. One condition would be making sure the bill does not allow young adults who gain legal status to help their relatives gain legal status or enter the country. He called such a measure “back-door amnesty.”

In explaining the commission’s position to the subcommittee, Land wrote: “The children of undocumented immigrants who were brought here by their parents should not be forced to bear the full penalty of their presence in the nation illegally. To consign them to lives often-times bordering on poverty levels for actions in which they had no part is too severe a penalty.”

A version of the DREAM Act was voted down last December. Last summer, in the midst of the fallout from stricter immigration policies in Arizona, Land and fellow Southern Baptists, including Houston pastors, lobbied for immigration reform as a just and moral imperative secondary to border security.

The Baptist Presswrote that though people may assume evangelical Christians and Southern Baptists take a conservative position on immigration, many pastors– like David Fleming of Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston– see a compassionate solution in immigration reform.

“Remember that God is concerned with the rule of law, and God is concerned with the alien and stranger among us,” he said.

62 Responses

Southern Baptists always quote Leviticus 19, which says, “You shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt” However, the Hebrew people didn’t sneak across Egyptian borders to infiltrate the grain handouts; they were kept there as slaves.

The critical distinction between “stranger,” “sojourner,” or “alien” in the Bible and “unauthorized aliens” under American laws is the legality of the person’s stay. It is the difference between a guest in your house, to whom you should be hospitable, and a thief who breaks into your house.

The biblical term for a person who breaks into your land illegally is “thief.” In John 10, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.” Unauthorized aliens have not taken the route of the legal immigrants who enter by the door.

What is the Christian response to the thief? In Luke 12, Jesus gives a common-sense suggestion: “But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.”

Our leaders govern well when they protect us from thieves, both foreign and domestic. Those who would enjoy the liberty and justice of American government must respect our laws and enter by the door of legal immigration.

The biblical term for a person who breaks into your land illegally is “thief.” In John 10, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.” Unauthorized aliens have not taken the route of the legal immigrants who enter by the door.

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You ability to twist and distort Scripture is amazing. Most people read the Bible. To you, it is a club used to attack people.

Good for you, Bob. Great post. The Southern Baptists will certainly lose MY support (and many I have talked to – don’t know where they get their poll results) if they insist on supporting efforts to provide paths to legal status for ILLEGAL immigrants. “Undocumented immigrants”, as naive left-wing author Kate Shellnutt posts, would lead you to believe that these THIEVES have “lost their documents” and their pitiful children should achieve legal status by HAVING TAXPAYERS PAY FOR THEM TO GO TO COLLEGE. Let them go to college in their country and come back the LEGAL way.

the door immigration system is dsfunctional.If only this fact could sink in
we would have a better understanding of what is really going on.They want to come in through the right way and follow the rules and law but the system is broken down.

The president of the great USA has said many,many times that our immigration system is broken.e.g cases of people waiting 20 years before tey are called for interviews are common.Maybe we need to get the president of the great USA to explain to us how the system is broken like he says it is.

THE UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS ARE PAYING MORE TAXES THAN YOU THINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IMMIGRANTS AND TAXES:
Q: “Is it true that illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes and drain our economy?”
A: As Ben Franklin said, “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Like the rest of us, unauthorized immigrants pay taxes on their property and anything they buy. More than half of them have taxes taken out of their paychecks, but because our immigration system is dysfunctional, these taxes are paid under false Social Security numbers. We need a new regimen in which we know who is paying taxes and can ensure that no one is getting a free ride. The only way to do that is to pull unauthorized immigrants out of the shadows and get them on the right side of the law.
Three state-level studies have found that unauthorized immigrants pay more in taxes than they use in benefits. In Iowa, unauthorized immigrants pay an estimated $40 to $62 million in state taxes, while they and their employers contribute an additional $50 million to $77.8 million in federal, Social Security, and Medicare taxes from which they will never benefit. In Oregon, unauthorized immigrants—who are not eligible for any state benefits—pay between $134 million and $187 million in taxes each year. Finally, in Texas, the State Comptroller found that, without unauthorized residents, the gross state product in 2005 would have been $17.7 billion less.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Undocumented immigrants are an important component of the U.S. economy. They meet the labor demand in sectors in which they do not directly compete with U.S.-born workers. The great majority of migrant workers are taxpaying, hardworking, and law-abiding people who are integrating into U.S. society.

The economics of immigration, Stephen C. Goss, the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration and someone who enjoys bipartisan support for his straightforwardness, said that by 2007, the Social Security trust fund had received a net benefit of somewhere between $120 billion and $240 billion from unauthorized immigrants.
That represented an astounding 5.4 percent to 10.7 percent of the trust fund’s total assets of $2.24 trillion that year. The cumulative contribution is surely higher now. Unauthorized immigrants paid a net contribution of $12 billion in 2007 alone, Goss said.

Previous estimates circulating publicly and in Congress had placed the annual contributions at roughly half of Goss’s 2007 figure and listed the cumulative benefit on the order of $50 billion.

The Social Security trust fund faces a solvency crisis that would be even more pressing were it not for these payments.
Adding to the Social Security irony is that the restrictionists are mostly OLDER AND RETIRED WHITES from longtime American families. The very people, in other words, who benefit most from the Social Security payments by unauthorized immigrants.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Would Boost the Economy & Help ALL American Workers: As opposed to the mass deportation, enforcement-only approach, addressing and fixing the immigration system in a wholesale manner will be a boon to the U.S. economy and all U.S. workers. That is why both the AFL-CIO and Change to Win created The Labor Movement’s Joint Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Dr. Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda conducted a 2010 report for the Center for American Progress and the Immigration Policy Center that found that “Unlike the current enforcement-only strategy, comprehensive reform would raise the ‘wage floor’ for the entire U.S. economy—to the benefit of both immigrant and native-born workers.” According to the study, granting legal status to undocumented immigrants and creating flexible legal limits on future immigration flows would generate enough consumer-spending to support 750,000-900,000 jobs. The report also found that the mass deportation approach would reduce GDP by 1.46 percent annually, amounting to a loss of $2.6 trillion over 10 years.

This 4th of July think of the veterans returning from foreign countries after fighting for your freedoms and protection. The Recent soccer match between the USA and Mexico illustrate where the “Dreamers” loyalty is, IN MEXICO!
The Veterans need your help and consideration. They need and deserve instate tuition, grants, etc, to give them a hand up!!
“Dreamers” are Mexico citizens and responsibility!
SAY NO TO THE DREAM ACT!

it saddens me to see the baptists going the way of the catholics, in this regard, who are already knee-deep in promoting illegal immigration as a way of increasing their membership rolls and financial coffers….it’s sad to see these so-called ‘leaders’ fall into the same sick perveted non-logic that the (now anti-American) US chamber of commerce has fallen into. and btw, i am a faithful, long-time member of a baptist church, and am just about ready to transfer somewhere else.

Bob’s argument is elegant, though I disagree with it and find it remarkably hard-hearted. Nevertheless, in certain respects I can see his point of view. People like retribution and knowing there’s punishment for the crime.

However, the analogy of the thief to the illegal immigrant breaks down in the context of the DREAM act as it concerns alien minors. If a thief broke into your house with a baby strapped to his back or his young child in hand, is the baby or child a thief to you? That just strikes me as contrary to the spirit of the rule.

The rest of the comments, especially the slur on fellow Christians of a different denomination, though–what a lot of venom bleeding through those words. There’s no responding to such talk–you can’t reason with hate.

God is concerned with legal citizens’ children, too. When foreigners break our laws so they can exploit U.S. taxpayers, I think God would want us to do what we can to protect ourselves and our children, because he says those that do not take care of those of their own household are worse than unbelievers.

The churches in the US are so 2 faced on rights issues. They was to support the rights for those who violate the law ans deny rights to US citizens. Between the church and state, it is not wonder we have problems. The government wants to let illegal aliens live free lives while placing pcitizens in jail for smoking some weed.

An illegal alien is a lawbreaker. In the United States of America we live by the rule of law. Illegal aliens and their children must return to their country of citizenship and enter our country in a lawful manner. No exceptions.

There initial decision to enter our country illegally is solely upon their shoulders and they must bear any consequences of their decision. If that means uprooting your entire family, losing most of the possession for which you worked, causing pain and misery for your family, please do not call me uncompassionate, uncaring and lacking emphathy.

Illegal aliens are fully responsible for their own poor judgement, decisions and the ensuing consequences.

politically conservative positions on illegal immigration and favor tighter borders over system-wide reforms
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conservatives….at least the ones that I know….are not opposed to system-wide reforms, but are against system-wide reforms WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING TO FIX THE BORDERS, ALONG WITH THE SOURCES/REASONS FOR THE INFLUX OF ILLEGALS.

Sojourner: A person temporarily passing through the land. That is who you are supposed to have compassion on. Not leaches sucking the blood out of everything they can latch onto. Time to leave the Baptist church.

Any one with a brain understands that there is a need for immigration reform. For far to long our immigration system had been Euro-centric, giving preference to European immigrants over others. The difference is immigrants come in to a nation the proper way, through proper channels, and obeying the laws become citizens. They do not sneak in illegally and demand rights they have neither worked for nor earned. The first thing that needs to be done in any case is securing our borders, then worry about what to do with the 11 million plus here illegally.

Grew up Southern Baptist, this is NOT the time to give in to illegals and embrace them as though they are our brothers and sisters. Illegal Is and will ALWAYS be illegal. I Love MY country and and I did my time in defending it….and I am proud to say that these Southern Baptists are not the breed I knew growing up. This is downright disgusting.

They may have been brought here as kids, but after living here for decades they could have applied for citizenship and done things the right way. If filling out a paper was too much work for them, send then back to help their own country. We welcome people that want to be Americans and do things the right way.

These newspapers alway say thatthe LEADER of this or that is in support of whatever their pushing. Just because some leader of an organization supports somthing doesn’t mean it’s members support it. These people don’t speak for the majority. It’s evident that the illegal hispanics that are here don’t support this country and are not interested in acclimating. The only reason they want the dream act to pass is so that they can get more and more of the things afforded our citizens.

Landwrote: “The children of undocumented immigrants who were brought here by their parents should not be forced to bear the full penalty of their presence in the nation illegally. To consign them to lives often-times bordering on poverty levels for actions in which they had no part is too severe a penalty”

They would have been on poverty if they weren’t brought here illegally. They have already had a leg up on the people that were left behind in their country. Because my parent might of broken the law doesn’t give me any special privelages. They have had oppurnitunities that they would have never had. If the majority decides that them being here is acceptable and I don’t think it is then the only oppurtunities they should have is the same ones that our children have and thats to work hard make somthing of themselves the same way our kids have to do.

Thats a baldface lie. This is nothing but communist propaganda. These parasites are in our country illegally and surveys from Numbers USA show that 95% of the citizens here are against any such act.
The wishy-washy politicians are selling us out again

You know…I don’t remember Jesus ever encouraging people to break the law. Does the church support breaking of any laws…or do they just pick and choose which to follow? I mean if I can pick and choose which of the ten commandments to follow and which it is ok to avoid…all will be good. Does the church support robbing banks? Carjacking? Rape? Murder? Or do they only support these crimes if the criminals are illegals? The big money with the church breaks the law in the name of greed. Every one should boycott HE Butt and Bob Perry homes. Both are criminals.

Once again we hear the words “comprehensive immigration reform” and “broken immigration system” . I do not recall ever reading or hearing, exactly what, or how,it is “broken”. The existing system apparently worked well enough to LEGALLY admit millions (by quota) prior to the runaway ILLEGAL entry problem. I think we (the people) should be given a very clear definition of “broken” and “comprehensive reform”.

Compulsory voting ensures a large voter turnout. This means a victorious candidate or party clearly represents a majority of the population, not only politically motivated individuals who would vote without compulsion. This helps ensure that governments do not neglect sections of society that are less active politically.

2) Arguments against

Compulsory voting can be seen as infringing a basic freedom of the citizen. Some consider the fining of recalcitrant voters to be more oppressive still.

3) Argument to start the Compulsory Voting in USA.

Illegal immigrants were in this Country because this system did facilitation, where illegal immigrants violate a Civil not Criminal instance and the real responsible are the body of executive and judiciary.

Chosen for each voters (American Voters) on pasts election day . Maybe there is compulsory voting here, nothing would have happened

Try It America!

“It also means another round of Amnesty – which many do not want but which, if we do it, will let us move on”

This is why I can’t throw my heart and soul into any denomination (much like political affiliation). They are all hypocrites in one way or the other.
I would prefer my church just talk to me about God/Jesus/Bible, and leave todays politics out of the mix. This turns my stomach…..

No sane businessman doesn’t support immigration reform. Hell will freeze over before Perry will sign any Arizona style legislation. It’s all about cheap labor. Go pray with Perry in August while he’s laughing his boots off at you fools who think otherwise. WABOFI !

This comment section must be filled with Klingons from the Star Trek series, because some are very willing to make the children of illegal immigrants bear the responsibility of paying for the crimes of the parents. Perhaps everyone whose ancestors came to this land against the wishes of the original population and placed a drain on its resources should be sent to jail. I hope tomorrow all of us white people will march single-file to our closest sovereign Native American lands to offer ourselves up.

These Latinos unknowingly made the single greatest error one can make in this country: they decided not to be born white. If these children the DREAM act is trying help had been born white, we wouldn’t see so much fear and hatred.

Americans always have this connotation that illegals are nothing but crap and pain to the economy and our country. I noticed most comments from the nationals are either from their racist bitter opinions, bi-products of being an unemployed national or have once in their life been involved and offended by an immigrant or an illegal alien. Paranoid of the growing numbers of aliens or just sick and tired of the immigration system.

Obviously,there really has something to be done right now to fix our broken immigration system. The FACT that NOT ALL ILLEGALS ARE FROM MEXICO crossing the borders. We also have some people from OTHER countries too! people who overstayed their visa’s and afraid to go home & face the 10year or forever bar, people who got scammed by fraudaulent lawyers/ immigration consultants. SEVERE BACKLOGS on our VISA CENTER, SLOW RESPONSE from USCIS making families wait FOREVER TO GET A VISA. These are the only few reasons why there is a growing number of ILLEGALS in the country and THIS WILL NEVER STOP UNLESS THE IMMIGRATION SYSTEM IN THE COUNTRY IS FIXED. We can never ever stop people from visiting our country, or try to get a better job or a living in this country, lets face it! People are people and they will always try do their best to seek for a better future for them, their family.

Right now, We are living in a generation now which is different from yesterday and whatever laws that was enacted before like the “Amnesty” may not be applicable for today’s generation. But still it doesn’t disregard the fact too that We need a DIFFERENT and PRODUCTIVE LAW that suits THIS GENERATION with regards to IMMIGRATION. I believe that the future of our young people lies here.

There has to be some kind of a law that will be FAIR to everyone and so secure our country! CRIMINALS who are illegals must face the consequences and be deported if needed. Those who just work hard and trying to be a law abiding undocumented must get a different approach. Like of the young people, a chance should be given to them. Our immigration system must be improved for families are being torn apart and broken!

Citizens and legal immigrants must stop being immature, and just be open minded, just saying not because a catholic church or a religious group supports pro-immigration, you no longer believe nor will attend your church. If youre looking at the church you guys have issues coz its not about the church or religion! Its about the relationship with our Creator, many people will offend and let you down if your looking at the church then you got it all wrong!!